Hackett Holland believes that good design is not the preserve of any particular style. Whilst much of their work is traditional, they also design in a modern style where appropriate. The studio approach is not dogmatic but responsive; responding not only to the requirements of their clients but also to the subtle particularities of the site and the character of its surroundings. In this article, we will talk about the best lighting ideas for halls and entryways by Hackett Holland!

Hackett Holland

Hackett Holland hopes that their buildings have good manners in relation to their neighbours and natural setting. The studio rejects the fashionable late 20th Century notion of architecture as objects in space. They believe that in the future successful architecture will be defined as that which responds to its immediate surroundings and to the wider environment in a meaningful way. Their aim is to create forms and spaces that are beautifully proportioned, considered, practical and formed using good quality sustainable materials.

Hackett Holland

At Hackett Holland, they offer to the clients a full Interior Design and Decoration Service. Their approach to interiors is much the same as to architecture – creating a scheme that is both sensitive and responsive to the building and its history. The style is characterised by a mixture of antiques, eclectic products and unexpected colours, good quality natural fabrics and comfortable furniture. The studio provides a range of services from concept design consultancy to full turn-key and will work closely with the clients own vision and economic realities.

Hackett Holland – Avenue Studios

This purpose-built block of Victorian Artists’ studios is tucked away in a hidden corner of Kensington and Chelsea, and subsequently not widely known. In its day it housed artists such as John Singer Sergeant but remains discreetly low-key. The Studios are Listed and protected, and – still categorised as ‘Artists Studios’ – their layout must retain the open plan character and function. Hackett Holland clients bought a pair of these studios and appointed them as both Architects and Interior Designers. Their approach was to return the studios and their mezzanines to a simple unfussy form, in the spirit of the original designs. Hackett Holland commenced by stripping out the inappropriate 20thC additions. Finishes are of high quality but selected from a limited palette of honest plain materials. Polished concrete was installed throughout the Ground Floor, bleached softwood on the upper floors. Trusses were stripped of paint and the lofty ceilings re-finished in painted boarding. Fireplaces became simple openings. Bed ‘nooks’ were provided on reconstructed mezzanines. Original bead and butt boarded partitions were revealed and stripped back. New joinery is of high quality, but simple in design. Only carefully selected new technologies were incorporated: they are present but discreet. The overall effect is a pared-down backdrop against which Hackett Holland client’s Art can be displayed.

Inspired By The Look

A modern classic hallway with an amazing traditional designed console with a round gold mirror.

Hackett Holland – Bloemfontein Avenue II

This house was in a pitiful state when Hackett Holland found it. The bay window had gone, replaced with a picture window. The front garden had been converted into a parking space (which was not large enough to fit a conventional car). All windows had been replaced with poor quality aluminium. Brick walls had been rendered or painted. Internally, all original features had been lost. The studio gutted the entire house. The bay window was re-instated with an exact replica of the original. Hackett Holland prepared detailed drawings, and the stonework contractor made rubber moulds of the capitals and details from a neighbour’s house. They re-planned the functions, placing the kitchen in the front room, close to the entrance, looking onto the street (which is quiet and pleasant). This allowed them to form a large reception room across the full width of the rear of the house, with a bi-folding French door opening onto the garden. New doors, windows, cornices, architraves and skirtings were made to match the originals. A new bedroom with a bathroom was built into the loft. To add character, Hackett Holland lined the entire loft bedroom in painted beaded tongue and groove boards. It feels a little like a cabin – rather than a bland box, like many loft rooms. The compact ensuite bathroom has glazed pocket sliding doors for the rare occasion they are necessary. For the remainder of the time, light and airflow through, from front to back.

Inspired By The Look

A grey and gold set with a faux-marble console, round mirror and geometric hallway rug.

Hackett Holland – Gerald Road

Hackett Holland – Hillgate Village

Hackett Holland – Kensington Park Road

Hackett Holland were responsible for the complete re-modelling of this large Notting Hill house, from the Architecture to the Interior Decoration, as well as landscape concept designs. On all the upper levels, traditional forms and details have been conserved, retained or sympathetically replaced, whilst the plan has been radically improved.  A new double-height side extension links the Ground Floor Reception Room to the vast open-plan Lower Ground Floor.  The entire side elevation of the house has been dismantled and rebuilt with large openings to open a dialogue between the formal Reception room and the modern kitchen, dining and sitting areas below. At Lower Ground Floor level, the entire perimeter has been underpinned, and the floor level lowered to provide 3-metre ceiling heights.  Much of the internal structure has been removed from this level to make a completely flexible space.  Under the front driveway are a new Utility Room, Plant Room, Wine Cellar and separate Staff Accommodation.

Hackett Holland – Mansfield Street

Hackett Holland clients are Art Collectors and generous patrons of Painters and Musicians. The large rooms of this important Listed Building near Portland Place in central London provided a perfect home for their eclectic collection of paintings. Evening concerts are now a regular fixture in the Ballroom. When the property was purchased it was in a tired and abused state, previously having been converted into offices. The studio oversaw the complete restoration of the building, which included gaining Listed Building Consent for alterations, restoration of several original chimneypieces, reinstatement of stone and oak floors and repair of original decorative plaster. Hackett Holland worked closely with historic paint expert Patrick Baty to establish the original Adam colour scheme. Their new scheme is not an exact re-creation but is devised from an authentic ‘Adam palette’.

Hackett Holland – McGregor Road

Hackett Holland collaborated with Interior Designer, Suzy Hoodless to transform this substantial end of terrace house in Notting Hill.  An entirely new Basement level of approximately 56 sq metres has been added to the existing 4 storeys. Works include entirely remodelling the rear elevation to incorporate double-height spaces lit by large ‘Crittal’ style windows; reconstruction of the roof to form a large open plan naturally lit Master Suite, and by re-modelling the entire interior of the house. On the Raised Ground Floor and 1st floor, the charming and historic traditional forms and details have been conserved, retained or sympathetically replaced, whilst the plan has been radically improved.  Bathrooms and guest WCs have been re-positioned and re-modelled to service every floor, and the kitchen re-located with a substantial informal dining area to the Lower Ground Floor.

Hackett Holland – Notting Hill Poolhouse

As part of a major refurbishment for one of Hackett Holland clients in Notting Hill, they were commissioned to build a Poolhouse at the end of the large garden. Tucked away behind the planting is a pair of plunge pools – one hot, one cold. Inside the Poolhouse, under the Dining Area, a staircase leads to a new subterranean gym and spa, sitting directly underneath the pools, entirely indiscernible from above ground.

Hackett Holland – Penzance Street

Hackett Holland – Shepherds Bush Place

This charming street of early 19thC terraced cottages is tucked away behind the station.  The houses are listed, although this one had previously been extended and had lost most of its original features. Due to the eccentric shape of the end-of-terrace plot, there were opportunities to re-work the plan and build out along the northern boundary to create an Entrance Hall, Cloakroom, and Utility Room. This new flat-roofed extension is invisible from street level. Inside Hackett Holland gutted the tired interior, carefully preserving the original staircase. The Ground Floor was opened up and bi-folding doors were fitted to unite the kitchen with the garden.  At the bottom of the garden is a home office. Upstairs the studio squeezed a Family Bathroom and an Ensuite Shower room into space previously occupied by a single over-generous bathroom.  Bedrooms were provided with fitted wardrobes with Cedar of Lebanon interiors. Panelling was re-instated to the original pattern, copied from an adjacent house where features remain intact. Finally, the roof space was converted into a den, where visiting grandchildren, unbothered by the low headroom, can sleep.  The loft is accessed by a hidden staircase, concealed behind a panelled door, and fitted into a line of wardrobes. The works included measures to improve energy ratings such as upgrading insulation, replacement of windows, under-floor heating, and installation of a solar thermal heat source system on the flat roof. This has reduced household heating bills dramatically.

Hackett Holland – Thurloe Square

This Listed building overlooks the historic and verdant Thurloe Square. To the north, the domes and spires of the Victoria and Albert Museum tower over the trees. The view is fabulous. Although Listed, the house had suffered ill-conceived alterations and loss of original fabric. Bathrooms were ‘standard developer’ style. The layout was sub-standard and wasteful of space, and joinery of low quality. In short, conditions were not up to the standards befitting this address. Hackett Holland was initially approached to assist only with Interior Decoration. As the scope developed their brief extended to Architectural Services. The studio undertook a full-scale refurbishment and repair programme and was responsible for every detail from re-roofing to light switches.